


White Light and Dragon Fire

by shinewithalltheuntold



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Belle POV, F/M, Multi, Outlaw Queen - Freeform, Robin POV, marian is marian, mentions of other canon pairings - Freeform, otherwise canon compliant until the 4b finale, pre-dragon outlaw queen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-10-22 11:27:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10696062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinewithalltheuntold/pseuds/shinewithalltheuntold
Summary: Set at the end of "Operation Mongoose" - if Robin had been a little late coming to the diner, things could have turned out quite differently.





	White Light and Dragon Fire

**Author's Note:**

> Written for DOQ week. Sort of. But not really. Part of the same universe as my other DOQ fics, this was written mostly to explain how Mal ended up staying with Regina after Robin came back from New York. And also because I wanted the scene with the ladies doing magic together.

Robin was late.

He was supposed to meet Regina and Henry at Granny’s almost thirty minutes ago, and though he knew Regina would understand his reasons once he explained, after all the months separated and then the horror of watching her die in Isaac’s twisted tale meant that every minute spent apart filled him with anxiety and dread.  So much so that he had basically run from the Merry Men’s camp in the woods into town and down Main Street.  Now he was outside the diner entrance, braced against the table while he caught his breath and tried to calm the heart thundering inside his chest.

“You okay?”

He whirled around and found Maleficent’s daughter standing rigidly in the vine covered archway.  She was staring at him with a sort of wary concern, and something about her expression and posture tickled the back of his mind.  He made note of it and then dismissed it for now, smiling a quick reassurance at the young woman standing in front of him.

“I’m well, thank you,” he said. Lily nodded and her posture relaxed just a bit.  He looked at her curiously. “And you? I didn’t see you in that....place, but I assume you were written into the book as well.”

He regretted asking the question when Lily tensed again, closing herself off completely.  That feeling of familiarity increased.

“I was,” she answered tersely. “But I’m fine.”

“That’s good.” He said nothing further, just gestured towards the door. “Shall we?”

Lily shook her head. “I’m gonna hang out here for a few more minutes….enjoy the peace and quiet.”

“Well then, perhaps I’ll see you inside.” She murmured something that sounded vaguely affirmative, and not wanting to increase the girl’s obvious discomfort, he flashed another quick smile and made his way into the diner.

It was crowded, much as it was those few months ago after the Wicked Witch’s defeat.  (Henry had jokingly informed him earlier that Granny’s was the traditional post-villain celebratory spot and that certainly seemed to be the case tonight.)  However, it took him only a moment to zero in on Regina and her son sitting side by side in a booth, staring down at what he assumed was the original storybook.  He made his way quickly to her side.

“Hello, love.” He pressed a quick kiss on those delectable lips of hers before taking a seat opposite her. 

“You’re late.” Her tone was worried rather than angry.  “Is everything all right?”

Regina knew that he had gone to the Merry Men camp to check on Roland and Marian and the rest.  She would be worried that something was wrong with his son, and he hastened to reassure her.

“It is now.   Roland is fine, but Marian was very shaken by everything that happened in that alternate world, especially her own actions.”

Regina frowned.  “They weren’t her actions.  They were more of the Author’s manipulations,” she said. Her eyes softened as she looked at Henry, reaching over to squeeze his hand. “The former Author’s.”

Robin grinned broadly at the reminder that Henry was now the Author.  Even as young as he was, Robin had faith that he would be a much better author than Isaac ever was. But Henry squirmed in his seat a bit, and Robin supposed he wasn’t quite used to his new mantle or to the attention it drew so he brought the conversation back to Marian.

“I told her that, but it’s still hard for her to reconcile.” He hadn’t helped, he knew.  When he had arrived at the camp, she had come rushing towards him and he had instinctively flinched away.  He’d apologized, but it hadn’t erased the guilt and pain in Marian’s eyes.  Even Roland had seen it. “I know I said I was going to bring Roland, that we were both going to stay with you, but he saw how upset Marian was and he wanted to stay and comfort her.”

“Of course he did.”

“Marian tried to convince him that she would be fine,” Robin explained, “but he overheard her say that she wouldn’t sleep easily tonight and informed her in no uncertain terms that when ‘his Majesty’ had made him her knight, she had charged him specifically with vanquishing the monsters that lived in bad dreams.”

“He did?” Regina was clearly surprised, and Robin wondered at that.  The boy had doted on her in the Enchanted Forest, and had been thrilled when she had come to New York to bring them back home.  Yes, he had his mother back now, but they were still getting used to each other.  Although neither he nor Marian acknowledged it, and the tide was very slowly shifting in Marian’s favor, they were both aware that Roland still looked at Regina as the primary maternal figure in his life.

He said none of this to Regina now; it would only increase the (unnecessary) guilt she felt.  Instead he just nodded in mock solemnity.  “Oh, yes.  He takes his duties very seriously, milady.”

He slid his hand across the table to grasp hers. “And since Roland is not with us, I thought perhaps you might join me for a walk in the moonlight.”

“Perhaps,” she responded coyly. They held each other’s gaze for a moment before Robin shifted to look at her son.

“As long as you don’t mind, Henry.” Although he had handled himself with a bravery that impressed but didn’t surprise Robin - the boy was the son of Regina and Emma after all - Robin knew that watching his mother die had been traumatic for him no matter how temporary that death was.  He would not begrudge the lad if Henry didn’t want to be separated from his mother even for a short while.  Henry, however, just shrugged.

“It’s cool.” A mischievous look crossed his face. “That way you guys can kiss all you want and I don’t have to see it.”

“Henry!” Robin tried to suppress the smirk threatening to spread across his face at Regina’s scandalized tone and the pinking of her cheeks. “You-“

Whatever Regina was about to say was cut off when the door to Granny’s was flung open and Belle rushed inside. She moved quickly towards Emma and her parents.

“Rumple, his heart. He said it’s almost gone.” Belle announced breathlessly.  She shifted her gaze to Regina. “And uh…he said we’re in danger.”

Regina’s hand tightened around Robin’s but her gaze was focused solely on Emma.  A moment of shared understanding before Emma turned to gather her parents and Regina slipped out of the booth without ever letting go of Robin’s hand.  She turned to Henry, who was hastily shoving the storybook into his bag.

He looked up just as Regina opened her mouth but cut her off before she could speak.

“I’m the Author now, Mom. I might be able to help.” His lips quirked up just a bit as he added, “And if we’re in danger, there’s no place safer than with you and Emma.”

He could see Regina struggling to find a hole in his reasoning, but as far as Robin could see there was none.  The boy was right; he would be safest in the company of two powerful magic practitioners with all the motivation in the world to keep him safe.  So he gave Regina’s hand a reassuring squeeze and when she turned to look at him, smiled softly.

“He’s right, milady.”

She nodded and turned back to Henry.

“You stay right next to Robin, and if he tells you to run, you run.” She reached out and grabbed hold of his chin. “Understand?”

Henry nodded, placing his hand atop his mother’s.  “I promise.”

Regina stared at him for another long minute, and whatever she saw reassured her because she let go of both he and Henry and turned to follow the Charmings, who were already halfway across the diner.  Hook pushed open the door and Emma quickly made her way past him, her parents at her heels and Regina close behind.

However, she paused as she passed by Maleficent’s daughter.

“Lily, call your mother. Have her meet us at Gold’s shop,” Regina ordered before slipping past Hook and joining the others outside. Robin reached out for Henry, grasping the boy’s shoulder as the two of them made their way out of the diner, waiting just long enough for Hook to release his hold on the door and join them before rushing to catch up with Regina and the Charmings.

 

\---------

There was too much happening and Belle simply couldn’t take it all in.  Rumple, lying on the floor so very still.  The others standing behind the Apprentice, anxiously listening to his admittedly not very reassuring words.  And the man himself, kneeling across from her. Using words like ‘purest evil’ and darkness finding ‘its doom’.

She watched, horrified and hopeful, as the Apprentice pulled Rumple’s heart from his chest and summoned the hat.  Even as he finished speaking the words of the spell to free Rumple from the Dark One’s curse, she could see it being drawn from his heart by the power of the hat. There was a flash of light emanating from where the dagger lay on the floor; Belle glanced at it just long enough to confirm that Rumple’s name was no longer engraved on it before turning her attention back to the hat.  She wondered if it was the Apprentice’s hand or the hat itself that shook as it absorbed the curse.  Both, perhaps.

And then it was done. The darkness was contained and Rumple’s heart wasn’t red but a strange bright white – the antithesis of that impenetrable blackness of moments ago.  She wished she knew if that was good or bad.  She glanced up at Regina, the only one who might have a clue as to what it all meant, but she appeared just as confused and apprehensive as the rest of them.  Belle looked down at Rumple, placed a hand on his chest.

“He’s barely breathing.”

“Rumplestiltskin was the dark one for centuries. His return to the man he used to be will not be easy,” the Apprentice said matter-of-factly. “This will preserve him until we discern if we can help him.”

“If?”

Before Belle could question him further, the box next to her started to rattle loudly.

“Everybody step back.” But even as Emma spoke, Regina moved forward, all her attention focused on the box and the inky blackness that was seeping out. The others obeyed Emma’s command and moved away from the box, Robin nudging Henry behind and to the side so that both he and David were standing between the boy and the hat.  For her part, Belle didn’t move.  She wasn’t strong enough to drag Rumple out of danger and she certainly wasn’t going to leave him.  So she simply leaned, ready to shield his body with her own.

She tilted her head up and looked at Regina, who was still gazing intently at the hat.  Belle could see it in her eyes, the way Regina’s mind raced to understand what was happening and how to stop it, and she saw the exact moment when Regina figured it out.  Watched as she stretched her hands behind her for just a moment, just long enough to brush against Robin’s hand, to curl a finger against Henry’s coat. 

And then she flung her hands forward, white light bursting from them just as the darkness spilled from the hat in a desperate attempt to escape.  The darkness recoiled but Belle could see it still fighting to get free.

“Regina!” Three different voices called out, but it was Emma’s voice that carried over the increasing roar of the magic.

“What are you doing?”

“Belle said that once something is freed from the hat, it can’t go back in!” Regina said through gritted teeth.  Her arms were beginning to shake from the strain. “We have to keep it inside- Emma, help me!”

The darkness had stopped pushing against Regina’s magic and was now trying to get around it.  Emma darted forward; taking a position to Regina’s left and cutting off its escape.

The light coming from the women’s combined power was blinding so close, but Belle couldn’t force herself to look away.  As she watched, the darkness was slowly forced back inside the hat.

“It’s working,” Hook said from where he had moved to stand behind Emma. “You’re pushing it back!”

“But it won’t stay.” The Apprentice had grabbed hold of the box to steady it, and Belle thought she saw wisps of magic under his fingertips. “Their magic will not last forever, and the moment they let go the darkness will escape.”

A new voice cut through the din.

“I don’t think so.”

Belle’s head whipped around. She had known, of course, that Rumple and the other queens had resurrected Maleficent but this was the first time she’d seen her in person in Storybrooke.  The first time she’d seen her since the three witches had kidnapped her back in the Enchanted Forest.  Aside from the updated wardrobe, Maleficent looked no different to Belle than she had all those years ago.  Tall and stunning and ferocious, and her sudden appearance made Belle hopeful and fearful in equal measures.

She watched as Maleficent strode to stand on Regina’s right, a young dark haired woman hovering behind her. Those icy blue eyes took in everything with a single glance before meeting the Apprentice’s gaze. Some unspoken agreement seemed to pass between them because the Apprentice nodded and Maleficent raised her hands.

And then there was fire.  Flames shot from Maleficent’s palms, wrapping themselves around the box and around the thin ropes of darkness still trying to escape the bright white magic Emma and Regina were throwing at it. Belle swore she heard a shriek of pain coming from the wisps of black as they recoiled back into the hat.

All too soon, the addition of Maleficent’s fire to the other women’s magic amplified the already overbearing light and heat in the room and Belle was finally forced to look away.  With nothing else to do, she wrapped herself around Rumple as best she could and waited for it to be over.

She didn’t know how long she waited, seconds or minutes – it could have been hours for all she knew – but eventually the light faded and the room cooled.  Belle lifted herself away from Rumple and looked around.

The Apprentice was still holding the box and there was no trace of darkness to be seen.  Instead, it appeared to be encased in some sort of crystalline structure; one that was still glowing with the heat of Maleficent’s flame.  Belle raised her gaze to the sorceress.

Maleficent was pale.  Ghostly pale and breathing shallowly.  A quick glance showed Regina and Emma in much the same condition.  They were all trembling and their eyes were unfocused.  Then, like a stack of dominoes tipped by some unseen force, they collapsed one by one.

Emma went first, but Regina and Mal quickly followed, dropping like stones.  Hook lunged forward and caught Emma, lowering her to the ground with Snow’s help.  Robin instinctively moved towards Regina but David and Henry were closer.  Confident that Regina was in good hands, Robin turned his attention to Maleficent, shifting his weight and catching her just before she tumbled to the floor.  The dark haired girl quickly moved in to help, and when Belle saw the look of fear on the girl’s face she realized that this must be Maleficent’s daughter.

“What’s wrong with her?” the girl demanded harshly, glaring up at the Apprentice.

“She is fine,” he said.  His voice was tired and his shoulders slumped in fatigue.  Whatever he had done to assist the three women had clearly drained him.

“Fine?!” That was from Hook. “They just collapsed! That is bloody well not ‘fine’!”

The old man sighed and knelt down, still clutching the box. “What they did required enormous power.  While they succeeded in trapping the Dark Curse inside the hat, it drained them of their energy.  But given a bit of time and rest, they will be back to their old selves.”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.  Everyone but Belle.  She was grateful that Emma and Regina and Maleficent were not permanently harmed by their efforts.  Grateful that they had succeeded in pushing back the darkness and containing it.  But they were not the only people in the room lying unconscious, and she was desperately afraid Rumple’s recovery wasn’t going to be as simple as a ‘bit of time and rest.’

She reached down and gently ran her fingers through his hair.  As angry as she was at him, as betrayed as she felt and as uncertain as she was that they could ever recover from everything that had happened in the past few months, the thought of a world without Rumple in it was…unfathomable to her.

Belle sat there, stroking Rumple’s hair, not paying attention to the drone of voices in the background until she suddenly realizes the droning has stopped and the room was silent.  She lifted her head and sure enough, the others were gone. Save one.

 

“They just left,” the Apprentice said, laying a gentle hand on her arm.  “Snow White and Captain Hook are taking Emma back to their apartment, and the Prince and Henry are transporting the Queen back to her home.”

“And Maleficent?” Belle bore no great love for the woman, but she had helped contain the Dark Curse and keep it from infesting anyone else.  And after being separated from her child for so long, they both deserved the chance to get to know each other properly.

“Lilith -” so that was the girl’s name “- and Robin Hood are taking her to the Queen’s as well.  Although she is not in her true form, the dragon will still allow Maleficent to recover more quickly than the others, and once she awakens she can explain tonight’s events to them in greater detail.”

“And who will explain them to me?” Belle said, unable to keep her bitterness completely hidden.  But she was just so damn _tired_ of being kept in the dark about everything.  Fortunately, the Apprentice seemed to understand that.

“Dragon fire.  It is one of the most powerful forms of magic there is,” he told her. “Neither light nor dark, it balanced the scales.  Maleficent used it to wrap the light magic around the hat and create…a seal.  A cage so powerful that not even the Dark Curse should be able to escape.”

Well that didn’t sound promising.

“Should be?”

“The darkness is clever,” the Apprentice said, “and it will never stop trying to free itself from its prison.”

He paused, and his face took on a look of grim resolution. “Which is why I must take it and hide it somewhere away from here.”

“Hide it where?” It was probably the best idea, but Belle wondered where in Storybrooke the man could hide something so powerful.

“It would be best if you did not know.  In fact, it is best if no one does.  People cannot share knowledge they don’t possess.”  Belle thought about the dagger, about Rumple pretending to be Hook. About everything that had happened since.  She found she couldn’t disagree with him.  Still-

“What about Rumple?” she asked. “Do you still think he has a chance?”

The Apprentice glanced down at Rumple. “A chance, yes,” he said. “The protection spell should keep him safe for at least a short time, but beyond that, I’m afraid I can’t tell.”

“I understand,” Belle said softly.  Under the circumstances, that was probably the best she could hope for.

The old man stood, the box still grasped firmly in his hands.

“And now I must leave you.”

“Now?” She understood the need to hide the hat, but he couldn’t leave now.  She had no idea how to help Rumple on her own.  The Apprentice hastened to reassure her.

“Henry suggested to his grandmother that she call the Blue Fairy to better assist you in this.  I am certain she is doing so even as we speak, and it would be best if I am not here when Reul Ghorm arrives.”

“Surely Blue could help you…” but the old man shook his head before Belle could finish that thought.

“Under the right circumstances, the darkness can seduce even the most powerful champions of light,” he warned. He tensed, and Belle wondered if he could sense Blue approaching.  He had to be powerful to be apprentice to someone as powerful as The Sorcerer. “I must go.  I wish you well.”

He reached down and briefly laid a hand on her shoulder. Belle was surprised how much that one fleeting touch comforted her, and she wondered if he had used some kind of magic to help soothe her worries. But when she looked up to question him, the room was empty.

And then the bell above the door jingled, and Blue was there with Tinkerbell right behind her.  Belle felt a frisson of unease; the Blue Fairy had been an enemy to the Dark One since far before even Rumple’s time.  Why would she help him now?

But despite the pinched look on Blue’s face that betrayed her feelings for Rumple, she still pulled out her wand and began examining him.  Belle breathed a sigh of relief and felt at least somewhat optimistic for the first time since they’d returned from Isaac’s realm.  She reached out and drew her ex-husband’s limp hand to her chest.

“Hold on, Rumple.”


End file.
